At the end of the first part of her Autobiography of Red, Anne Carson says about the Geryoneis that the surviving fragments "read as if Stesichoros had composed a substantial narrative poem then ripped it to pieces and buried the pieces in a box with some song lyrics and lecture notes and scraps of meat." There are several things that I find fascinating about Carson's book but its form is probably the most remarkable one to me, and looking back to it after finishing my first reading of the book made her statement about the form in Stesichoros' poem feel like a confession. The other thing I find fascinating is the inventiveness with which Carson draws on the tradition she knows so well (she was trained as a classicist) and looks at it from fresh angles under different lights .

Inspired by these aspects of Carson's book, this piece is my attempt to start a conversation with a few of the musics that have shaped my sensibility and to experiment with form departing from them. Of course, some other concerns of mine found their way into the piece as well, so it is also an exploration of how seemingly different things interact and when our perception groups them together or separates them.

Premiered by TAK Ensemble at McClintock Choral and Recital Room, Northwestern University. Chicago, IL. 

Laura Cocks, flute

Madison Greenstone, clarinet

Charlotte Mundy, voice

Austin Wulliman, violin

Ellery Trafford, percussion